Recent discussions at the annual meetings of the UAE government for 2026 have highlighted the nation’s robust efforts to establish a comprehensive system that ensures the sustainable availability of food and pharmaceuticals. The session titled “National Integration in the Sustainability of Food and Medicine,” showcased how the UAE is enhancing local production, diversifying supply sources, and improving market efficiency and inventory management.
Integrated Efforts Towards Sustainability
Key stakeholders from federal and local governments, alongside the private sector, played pivotal roles in connecting supply chain planning with the actual needs of the community. This collaboration emphasises the strategic use of data and technology to streamline processes and enhance service efficiency, ultimately supporting food and medicine security, as well as quality of life for residents.
Insights from Government Leaders
Notable figures, including the Minister of Economy and Tourism, Abdullah bin Touq Al Mari, and the Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Dr. Amina Abdullah Al-Dhahak, discussed the state’s accomplishments and priorities in advancing its food and pharmaceutical markets. They specifically mentioned strengthening partnerships with local suppliers, producers, and manufacturers.
Market Stability and Price Control Initiatives
Al Mari emphasised the importance of supply continuity, market stability, and community confidence, asserting these are the foundations of the national effort to ensure efficient delivery of goods to consumers. He also drew attention to an alarming rise in shipping and customs clearance costs, with a 266% increase in overall shipping costs and a staggering 500% increase in maritime shipping expenses. The average price rise of affected goods reached approximately 28%.
Intensive Market Surveillance
The Ministry has significantly ramped up market oversight, conducting more than 41,000 inspection campaigns compared to 15,000 in previous years, and expanded its team of inspectors from 6 to 50 in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice. Over 10,000 inquiries were received, and the analysis of complaints and field visits has been instrumental in addressing price disparities, promoting direct supply routes, and minimising the number of intermediaries. Moving forward, the goal is to develop a permanent national programme aimed at enhancing the resilience of the food supply chain, which will include a national monitoring system for each product and more efficient supply routes with greater reserves and capabilities.
Advancements in Food Security
Dr. Amina Al-Dhahak introduced the upgraded “Emirates Food Basket 2.0,” designed to bolster the resilience of the national food security system. She explained that the improved basket expands the planning spectrum from 18 to 28 food items, thereby aligning production, supply, and investment priorities with community needs, while enhancing the role of local producers in the market.
Food Safety and Quality Assurance
The Minister underscored that food availability is inherently linked to its safety, diverse sourcing, and efficient delivery to consumers. The supply network currently integrates qualified sources from over 115 nations, coordinating efforts across 42 land, sea, and air ports, while also refining procedures for shipment inspections and clearances according to health regulations.
Comprehensive Veterinary Oversight
In the first nine months of 2026, the Ministry conducted over 238,000 veterinary inspections, a slight increase compared to the same period in 2025, reflecting ongoing oversight alongside import activities despite operational challenges. The Ministry is also implementing a pesticide residues testing programme for both local and imported food products traded in the markets, with over 10,900 samples taken for examination by the end of September 2026—surpassing the total sampled throughout 2025. The compliance rate stood at over 90%, demonstrating effective coordination with local authorities, which executed more than 200,000 regulatory actions.
Ensuring Pharmaceutical Availability
Meanwhile, Saeed Al-Hajri, Chairman of the Emirates Drug Administration, confirmed the continued efforts to guarantee the availability and safety of medications, with a system encompassing more than 20,000 registered medical products from over 3,000 manufacturers worldwide. Approximately 2,600 medical shipments arrive weekly.
Streamlining Import Processing
He highlighted that procedural enhancements have reduced the processing time for import requests from two days down to just 12 hours. Additionally, a collaborative review of prices for over 168 essential goods significantly reduced the prices of reviewed items by 20%.
Maintaining Strategic Stockpiles
Al-Hajri noted ongoing monitoring of over 1,400 products within the strategic stockpile, complemented by the provision of 217 approved therapeutic alternatives to ensure supply continuity without depleting strategic reserves. The nation now produces over 3,000 medical products locally, with collaborative efforts among manufacturers to consolidate needs from more than 12 factories for coordinated shipping and sharing surplus raw materials among seven other factories to support continuous production.
Future Initiatives for Integrated Healthcare
He elaborated on five key initiatives aimed at enhancing operational capabilities within the pharmacy sector: linking pharmaceutical tracking platforms with corporate systems, securing essential materials for factories, developing a national policy for medical stockpiling, accelerating the localisation and support of pharmaceutical manufacturing, and establishing regulatory response protocols to strengthen national capacities and sustain patient care requirements.